Gwen Benevento
Maven Law Group
Ms. Benevento is Of Counsel at Maven Law Group, where she advises clients on legal and legislative matters before all branches of state and local government. She represents corporations, non-profits, and political candidates on federal, state, and local activities. She also represents clients on state and local ballot measures and advises federal and state candidates and elected officials. She also advises corporate clients on various matters, including corporate compliance. She previously practiced in these areas as Of Counsel at Holland & Hart, LLP.
As former Chief Legal Counsel to Colorado Governor Bill Owens, she directed a wide range of legal, policy, and legislative matters. Her office was responsible for managing and directing state litigation, negotiation and oversight of state contracts, managing the appointment of state judges, drafting and implementing executive orders, managing the governor’s disaster emergency and response program, and implementing state legal and policy initiatives on a wide variety of matters. She is well-versed in telecommunications, energy, transportation, and administrative law within Colorado. Having served as Legislative Assistant to United States Senator Wayne Allard, Ms. Benevento is also able to advocate within the Beltway. Her combination of experience, legal knowledge and intricate familiarity of the legislative process at the local, state, and federal levels position her well provide comprehensive advisory and advocacy services to her clients.
She earned her J.D. in 2002 from the University of Colorado School of Law, and her B.A., cum laude, in 1994 from Colorado State University, where she was Phi Beta Kappa.
Crystal Potter Rivera
Board Vice Chair and Associate Executive Director, Denver Health Foundation
Crystal Potter Rivera’s professional career spans 16 years working in nonprofit fundraising, communications and program development. This includes six years at a senior level within organizations, managing complex nonprofit development programs, and six years as a nonprofit management consultant specializing in fundraising. Crystal has generated significant funds from foundations, corporations and individual donors for a range of nonprofits diverse in size and scope, including Colorado Business Committee for the Arts, Heritage Camps for Adoptive Families, Jared Polis Foundation’s Academy of Urban Learning, Mile High United Way and Summer Scholars. In 2012, Crystal became the Manager of Foundation Relations for the Denver Health Foundation, where she is responsible for managing local and national grants totaling $4-6M annually.
As a volunteer, Crystal has served as a mentor for the Circle of Latina Leadership, on the communications committee for Colorado Black Women for Political Action, on the board of the Denver Foundation’s Colorado Nonprofit Loan Fund, and as a cook and community gardener with the St Barnabas Church Sharing Table initiative. She is currently on the board of Denver’s Center for African-American Health. She is a Denver native and holds a BA in sociology from Columbia University in New York.
Courtney Cuff
CEO, The Impact Project
Courtney Cuff is the Executive Director of The Impact Project, a multi-state effort designed to advance progressive economic and democracy policies through strategic investments. She has over 20 years experience working in social change fields, including experience in advocacy, campaigning, coalition building, and philanthropy.
Prior to running The Impact Project, she spent several years as the President and CEO of the Gill Foundation. Gill is one of the leading funders of LGBT work nationally, and is committed to securing equal opportunity for all people regardless of sexual orientation or gender expression. At Gill, Cuff led the team in strategic grantmaking designed to advance LGBTQ issues through state and national investments. She helped guide the foundation into new modalities after the movement won marriage, with a focus on advancing nondiscrimination protections through state-based coalitions.
Before running the Gill Foundation, she was CEO of the Western Conservation Foundation, which she cofounded in 2005 and grew into an organization with a budget of $8 million. She has also worked as the Director of the Pacific Regional Office of the National Parks Conservation Association and as Legislative Director of Friends of the Earth.
A native of Georgia, Courtney is a graduate of Wake Forest University with a degree in sociology, and also completed an MBA executive course in social entrepreneurship at Stanford University. Courtney is also a certified sommelier with a diploma of wine from the International Sommelier Guild. She lives in Boulder with her wife, two sons, their dog and three goats.
Jim García
MPA, Founder & Executive Director, Clínica Tepeyac
Jim García has been actively involved in Denver’s non-profit community for the past 24 years and has worked in various leadership capacities for a wide range of health and human service organizations. Jim received his undergraduate degree from Regis University and his Master of Public Administration from the University of Colorado at Denver. He is recognized as an expert in developing high level collaborative partnerships with a broad spectrum of community and governmental organizations for the purpose of addressing health disparities. In 1994, Jim founded Clínica Tepeyac, a community-based health center that provides primary care health services, behavioral health services and health education to Metro Denver’s medically underserved, predominantly Latino population. In 2011, Jim was appointed as the Executive Director of Clínica Tepeyac.
Jim serves on several Boards including the Mile High Health Alliance, Colorado Health Foundation, Mental Health America Colorado and the Denver Board of Environmental Health. Additionally, he was appointed by former Governor Bill Ritter to serve as a member of the Judicial Nominating Commission. Earlier in his career, Jim worked as a staff member for former Senator Tim Wirth and as a Senior Policy Advisor for former Governor Roy Romer.
John Marshall
President, Colorado Mesa University (CMU)
John Marshall is the 11th president of Colorado Mesa University (CMU), a mid-sized comprehensive public university in Grand Junction, Colorado. He also serves as an instructor in CMU’s early start programs and as a lecturer of political science.
Prior to his current role, Mr. Marshall served as the vice president for student services where he was responsible for enrollment management and student affairs, which included leading the Admissions Office, University Center, Residence Life, Financial Aid, Student Life, International Student Programs, student health clinic services, student mental health services, diversity and advocacy, and campus safety/police.
Before his role managing student services, Mr. Marshall served as the institution’s director of development and was responsible for all private fundraising and gift management at the university. Prior to joining CMU, Mr. Marshall worked in public policy, including serving as an assistant director of a state agency, and as a senior policy advisor to the Governor of Colorado.
Mr. Marshall holds a BA from Colorado Mesa University, an MPA from the University of Colorado Denver, and is currently a PhD candidate in Public Policy and Administration (ABD). Mr. Marshall was selected as a 2012 Marshall Memorial Fellowship recipient (a European immersion program offered by the German Marshall Fund of the U.S.) and has been active in his community, serving on the board of directors for the Business Incubator Center, the Grand Junction Area Chamber of Commerce, Court Appointed Special Advocates of Mesa County and multiple community-based prevention efforts regarding suicide and sexual assault.
He is the father of four and resides in Grand Junction with his wife, Linde.
Jayson Sime
Healthier Colorado Board Chair & Director of Organizing, The Wilderness Society
Jayson is the Director of Organizing at The Wilderness Society. He has a long history of working in politics. During the 2020 election cycle, Jayson was Senior Strategist for Warren for President in Colorado and Senior Advisor to America Votes in Nevada and Colorado. Previously, he was a State Director for America Votes in Nevada and Colorado. He managed a top-tier congressional race and served in a variety of campaign roles for the Nevada and Iowa Democratic parties. Jayson built the infrastructure for the Nevada caucus in 2008, the first “early window” caucus in the history of the state. During this campaign, Jayson attended his first yoga class and discovered a new way to manage the stress of working in politics. He became a yoga teacher and spent a year teaching yoga around the world. Jayson was featured in the REI-sponsored documentary “How to Run 100 Miles.” He is the founder of Right to Shine LLC where he coaches individuals and teams on self-care and wellness strategies. He is the author of Self-Care Hacks: 50 Tips and Tricks To Maximize Your Performance, Well-Being, and Happiness. He serves on the board of Healthier Colorado
Karl Nieschburg
Compliance Officer, Prowers Medical Center
Karl Nieschburg is the Compliance Officer of Prowers Medical Center, a Special Health Services District in Lamar, Colorado, where he was born and raised. Karl oversees the compliance and ethics program for the district’s Critical Access Hospital, Rural Health Clinic, and home health agency. Karl’s everyday work deals with the effects of healthcare law and policy on organizations and patient care.
Karl has more than 16 years of experience in the fields of healthcare and education. Prior to becoming a compliance officer, he worked as a health coach and patient navigator, where he spent hundreds of hours listening to patients explain what barriers stood between them and their health goals. Karl was part of a successful collaboration in Prowers County to improve health outcomes using a community and patient-centered approach and funding provided by the Colorado Health Foundation, LiveWell Colorado, and Great Outdoors Colorado.
Karl has over a decade of experience in governance, and has been a director for several civic and community organizations, including a substance abuse treatment organization. Karl currently serves as a director of the Alta Vista Charter School, a 2019 recipient of the John Irwin Award for Excellence. Karl is certified in healthcare compliance (CHC) and healthcare privacy compliance (CHPC) from the Health Care Compliance Association, and holds a Bachelor of Arts in History and Anthropology from the University of Colorado in Boulder, where he was a member of the Golden Key National Honor Society.
Brigitte McClellan
PsyD, PMH-C, Licensed Psychologist, Children’s Hospital Colorado, Assistant Professor, University of Colorado Anschutz School of Medicine Department of Psychiatry
Brigitte McClellan, PsyD is a licensed psychologist at Children’s Hospital Colorado providing care in primary care settings. She is passionate about improving access to culturally informed evidenced based behavioral healthcare. She believes in a focus on continued learning in order to bring new and innovative support and services to the patients that she works with within the community through their medical homes.
Dr. McClellan earned her doctorate from Wright State University’s School of Professional Psychology. Her internship training year was completed at Harvard Medical School/Boston Children’s Hospital where she engaged in focused pediatric primary care training. She completed postdoctoral training at Children’s Hospital Colorado with a continued emphasis on pediatric primary care. Dr. McClellan has completed additional training in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. She also has a certificate in perinatal mental health.
She is originally from Cleveland, Ohio, and has lived in Colorado for nearly 10 years. Dr. McClellan is married and has one child.
Daniel Ramos
Daniel Ramos is the Executive Director of a Colorado-based nonprofit focused on protecting democracy, improving equity and expanding the civic engagement ecosystem in Colorado. Before taking on this role in 2020, he served as the Executive Director for One Colorado – the state’s leading advocacy organization for LGBTQ Coloradans and their families. Ramos is an active member of the Colorado community and has served on the Board of Directors for New Era Colorado, Community Shares and the Equality Federation, and as a Commissioner on the Colorado Supreme Court Nominating Commission. He currently serves on the LGBTQ Victory Fund Campaign Board and as a Trustee for Colorado Mesa University and the Rose Community Foundation.
Ramos is also an adjunct professor at the University of Denver, teaching courses on Public Policy & Advocacy and Community Engagement & Empowerment. He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Colorado Boulder and his Master of Public Administration from the University of Colorado School of Public Affairs.
Jake Swanton
Vice President of State Affairs, Inseparable
Jake Swanton is Vice President of State Affairs at Inseparable, a national mental health advocacy organization. He has nearly 20 years of experience across government, non-profit and private sectors.
His public sector work includes almost a decade in the United States Senate, chiefly spent in the office of former U.S. Senator Mark Udall. Jake advised the senator on health policy during debate and consideration of the Affordable Care Act and later led the office’s policy team as Legislative Director. Jake’s campaign experience spans presidential, ballot issue, senate and mayoral races. He was staff for both of Barack Obama’s presidential efforts here in his home state of Colorado, including as the campaign’s state policy director for the 2012 re-elect.
Since leaving government in 2014, Jake has held multiple senior roles at corporate and nonprofit organizations, including as Director of Government Relations for the Pew Charitable Trusts. Later, as Chief of Staff and Policy Director for rideshare company Lyft, Jake spearheaded national government strategies to bring rideshare into the healthcare market while directing overall legislative strategy for the company across the Mountain West. Prior to joining Inseparable, Jake was Head of Social Impact at Denver’s Guild Education.
Jake earned a BA from the College of William & Mary and holds a Master of Public Policy in health care from The George Washington University.
To view The Fund for a Healthier Colorado 501-(C)3 Board of Directors, click here.